


A new story

by PrettyRegal91



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Closure, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-31
Updated: 2017-08-31
Packaged: 2018-12-22 02:13:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11957559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrettyRegal91/pseuds/PrettyRegal91





	A new story

A new story 

She ran and ran until she was almost out of breath. She bends her knees and leans with her hands on them, trying to get control over her breath again. 

‘Henry, HENRY!‘ She screams with all the air she has left in her lungs.  
The look in her eyes, the desperate look of a mother who’s afraid of losing the most precious thing in the world, her child. The child she thought she could never have, the child that taught her how to love, that showed her what true love is, the child that she never ever wanted to let go of anymore since the first day she held him in her arms. 

‘HENRY where are you! ‘ She screams again. You can hear the emotion in her voice. 

‘Mom?’ Henry appears from behind a tree. 

‘Henry? HENRY! Are you alright? Regina runs to her son and holds him even tighter then she always does. ‘Where have you been?! I even used a locator spell but it didn’t get me to you. I thought something terrible happened! The whole town is looking for you.’

‘The whole town.. MOM. Really?! Why did you tell everyone?!’ Henry reacts a little embarrassed and agitated. You’ll probably recognize it if you have a teen in puberty living under your roof.

‘Well I’m the mayor remember.’ She winks at him and puts her hands gently on his face, holds it and looks deeply into his eyes.  
‘This isn’t the time to act like a teenager who’s embarrassed by his mom, young man. You should be grateful that I’m not acting all evil anymore because then you would have been grounded for a month’, she laughs.  
She smiles at her son. A look of relieve and joy. She hugs him again, so happy to have him back in her arms. Secretly smelling the hair of her little boy that grew up so fast. Although time was a little different the last years it all feels like it happened in the blink of an eye. Despite all the struggles, the curses that had to be broken, the sometimes pretty strange family connections that were revealed, finding love and losing it again, dealing with the evil inside and outside, the love for her son has always kept her going. 

‘Uh.. mom can you let go of me now so I can text grandpa that I’m fine?’

‘Yeah sure.. BIG boy’, she grins. ‘Also let Emma know you’re alright.’

‘Well I just texted grandpa to tell him I’m ok and that I will come to my mom’s house tomorrow. Almost being hugged to death by one mom is enough for today.’

‘I did not hold you that tight!’ Regina laughs. ‘ Ok maybe I did. But are you going to explain to me why you were missing? Don’t ever scare me like that again! EVER!’

‘I will but… can we sit down for a moment? ‘

‘Yes off course. Let’s go back, it’s getting dark. I will make you a big cup of hot chocolate with cinnamon at home.’ 

‘No let’s sit here by the lake. I want to show you something.’ Henry looks a little nervous. He is looking at the lake and then behind him, as if he is searching for something. 

‘What’s there to see, we’ve seen this lake before’ Regina says, when she notices her son looking around. 

‘Just wait mom.’  
Henry is very determined to stay by the water, so Regina decides to give in and they both take a seat on a small bench. From there they have an unending view over the lake. It’s quiet, you can only hear the sound of the wind and some birds singing before going to sleep. It’s peaceful. 

‘So I’m ready for your story now mister, it better be a good one! I have heard a lot of stories and they didn’t always end well. Actually I’m in a story right now!’ She says when she makes a face acting she’s surprised about the fact she’s in a story.

‘I know mom, I’m the writer. Just give me a moment’  
A little silence follows as they both watch the sky going from light to dark and the sun hiding itself behind the water.  
‘You won’t get mad at me?’ Henry asks a bit hesitated.

‘Henry, I’ve been angry with people for so long and where did it get me? I would never get mad at you. You’re a smart kid’, she says while laying her hand on his shoulder as a touch of love, encouraging him to tell her everything, and that he will always be safe with her.

‘Do you remember when I saw you using the locator spell and it didn’t work? Cause Robin is..’ Henry bends his head down.

‘It’s ok Henry, you can say it.’ Regina removes her hand from his shoulder, giving her son some space to process the heartbreaking moments he had to go through in the last period of time. 

‘Gone.’ Henry says while still looking to the ground. After a few minutes of silence he continues:  
‘He wasn’t a villain, Hades was and maybe Hades lied. Maybe Robin wasn’t obliterated. That’s what Hades wants us to think but I refuse to believe that. So I wanted to help you which came with a price. I needed something that was special to you. Zelena did not lose the feather of Robins arrow that Roland gave to her.’ A short moment of silence follows.  
’I took it. I’m sorry mom, I wanted to tell you but you had to deal with the Evil Queen and you got mad at Zelena. I was afraid.’ Henry looks disappointed. He’s disappointed in himself and he’s afraid he let his mom down. 

‘Henry you should never be afraid of telling me the truth. You are my son and I will always love you, no matter what.’  
Once again she smiles the way a mother smiles at her child as a way of comforting him. Letting him know that everything will be alright.  
Regina continues: ‘I’ll deal with my wicked sister later and.. ‘  
‘What the hell is happening!’ Regina says out loud, while she feels the ground trembling underneath her feet.  
‘Henry stay behind me!’ 

‘It worked, mom it worked! ‘ Henry , who was first disappointed and sad, now suddenly sounds enthusiastic as if something really exciting is about to happen. 

‘I don’t know what worked but I feel like we are going to face something really big, whatever it is you stay behind me and don’t move! I’ll take care of it.’ She may have lost a part of her darkness, but you don’t mess with Regina Mills. You can see the fire in her eyes, it’s still there. It will always be there.  
Regina stands in front of her son, focused and ready to face whatever is coming her way. The ground starts to shake even more so Regina opens her hand, ready to throw a fireball. You don’t provoke the mayor. No one comes near her son. Her new family might have helped her to embrace herself and maybe even convinced her to have hope. But there is one thing Regina always had: strength. No one will ever take that away from her no matter what kind of magic is used, who she loves, or what part of her is ripped away. 

‘Over here!’ Henry screams as he runs away from his protective mom, who’s still standing with both feet strongly on the ground ready to throw her fireball.

‘Henry, what are you doing! Henry Mills come back to me!’ Regina screams to her son. She’s confused and concerned. What is her son up to? Regina runs after him and when she is almost near him they both stand still. In front of them is a huge hairy brown…  
‘Bear? It’s a bear?! Seriously? I thought I had seen a lot in my life, flying monkeys, dragons, evil fairy’s, but a bear? Well ok then.. I can handle this! Come on Winnie show me what you’ve got!’ Regina says just before throwing her first fireball. 

‘Mom, wait! You can’t defeat it with a fireball’ Henry yells at his mom, while watching the fireball go just over the head of the bear, who saw it coming and bended it’s head.

‘Watch me!’ Regina is determined to grill this bear. There is that fire in her eyes again. It’s like a hot waving flame that can be lit any time. 

‘Mom you’re fighting against yourself’ Henry tries to explain to his mom.

‘NO I’ve already done that. This is an angry hairy creature and he’s going down.‘ Regina prepares another fireball, looks right in the eyes of the bear, and throws it right at him.  
‘HA! How about that? No honey for you anymore!’ She says when she sees the bear shaking after he got hit by her fireball. Then something unexpected happens. The bear absorbs the fireball into his tremendous chest and starts to grow.  
‘Seriously!?‘ Regina screams.  
He becomes bigger and bigger. The bear starts to growl at Regina and Henry. Their hair blows as if a huge storm is coming their way. Henry is able to move just far enough through the strong wind to reach his mother’s arm.

‘You can do this mom’ Henry says while holding her arm tight. Almost as tight as she held him when she hugged him. In his eyes you see the trust and belief he has in his mom. He feels safe with her.  
‘It’s your biggest fear’.

‘What do you mean my biggest fear? I’m not scared of anything. My biggest fear isn’t watching the Jungle book movie, that’s for sure.’ Regina says sarcastically.  
‘Henry can you help me. Go to your grandpa’s store he’ll know what ingredients I need.’

’I’m not going to grandpa. Besides, he won’t give me anything since I stole from him to create this in the first place. Don’t fight it mom. If you’re able to embrace your biggest fear, the bear will disappear.’

‘What if I can’t Henry?’ Regina says looking at Henry with a little sadness in her eyes, not wanting to disappoint her boy. She wants to stay strong.

‘You can mom, you really can. Just say it out loud.’  
The bear comes closer, the ground is trembling again. Henry and Regina hold on to each other. He growls, this time it is so loud and powerful it makes them fall onto the floor. Regina immediately grabs her son. 

‘Are you ok Henry?’ 

‘Yes mom, I’m fine. Really, I’m fine.’ Henry says, as they both get back on their feet.  
‘I have a plan, I’ll go to the other side of him to distract him. Then you can have a little bit more time mom. Just take a deep breath. ‘ 

‘Wait, Henry!’ Regina yells at him. She’s too late, he already started to run to the other side of the bear. 

‘Catch me if you can!’ Henry screams, confident that the bear won’t catch him. Henry starts running, the bear close behind him.  
‘Now mom, now!’ he yells while running as fast as he can. Regina is running behind them gathering the courage to reveal her biggest fear. 

‘ I.. I am… . HENRY! She screams his name so loud that it might hurt your ears, but it doesn’t, it hurts your heart. You feel her pain. Her eyes fill up with tears when she witnesses her son trip over a rock, fall on the hard road and lose his consciousness, while the bear is only a few of his big steps away. She uses magic and poofs herself to him as fast as she can, holding his head that has a small bleeding wound. When the bear is only a foot away, reaching out his claw to Regina ready to hit her, she whispers whilst a tear drops down her cheek:  
‘Henry I can’t lose you. I’m afraid I can’t protect the ones I love.’  
A bright light hits her like when a curse is broken. It’s gone, as if it never existed. No bear, no fear. Regina takes a deep breath, softly wipes away the tears and holds her hand over Henry’s head to heal the wound with magic. Or was it the tear she wiped away with that hand that healed the wound? Because mother love heals wounds too. 

‘Mom?’ Henry says a bit confused. 

‘Ah, look who’s waking up.’ Regina softly speaks to her son.  
‘Let’s try to stand up, I’ll bring you to Emma’s.’

‘Mom, are you crying?’ Henry’s asks out of concern. 

‘Not anymore, I have you.’ She smiles, relieved. Wiping away the last tear on her cheeks.

‘The bear.. it’s gone. Mom.. you did it!’ Henry realizes what happened before he passed out, and what must have happened after. In his voice you can hear he’s proud and happy that his mom succeeded. But quickly the happiness changes into sadness when he finds out the bear disappeared but there is now sign of..

‘Robin, where’s Robin?’ Henry looks around, rushed as if he has lost something important. 

‘Robin is.. not here. Oh, you thought..? Henry, I’m sorry he didn’t. ‘ She walks up to him and lays a hand on his shoulder.  
‘Come, let’s have a seat on the bench. I’ll call Emma and tell her I’m bringing you to her place.’ She replaces her hand from one shoulder to the other so she is now holding him closer and moving him towards the bench in front of the lake. It’s still dark, though the stars shine so bright it gives them enough light. Henry looks disheartened. This was not how he hoped his plan would turn out. 

Regina walked away from her son for a moment to make a phone call.  
‘Emma, can I bring Henry to you? No he’s fine. I’m fine too. Oh but you don’t need to.. we were just.. oh ok. Yes I’ll tell him. Bye.’

‘Emma insisted to pick us up with her yellow bug. Wow.. overprotective mom! She says as she walks back to Henry  
‘What? Where’s that pretty smile of yours?’ Regina tries to cheer up her son. But he just stares, lost in his own thoughts. Regina starts to stare with him. She observes the stars. The sky is more beautiful than ever. 

Henry starts to speak:  
‘I had hope mom. I thought it would bring Robin back or at least we would know what happened to him. I failed. I only made things worse for you.’ 

‘Henry, it may not have worked out the way you wanted to but you were brave. You ran in front of a bear and you were not even scared. You had so much faith in me. Do you know how many years it took me and Emma before we trusted someone that much? We couldn’t be more proud of you. Just don’t run away from home anymore. And don’t steal from your grandpa, it always comes with a price. Dearie.’ She impersonates Rumple while saying ‘Dearie’ and a smile seems to appear on Henry’s face. 

‘I know. Thanks mom.’ Henry’s still sad, just a bit more relieved.  
‘I just wished I could protect both of my moms. I failed with you and now Emma has to face the final battle soon. I’m worried. Emma is a hero so she should win. What if she doesn’t?’

‘Henry that is very sweet of you but it’s not your job to protect us. A mom should protect her child, not the other way around. I know you’re not like any other kid, you’re special. Your childhood wasn’t ordinary which I blame myself for. Now it’s time to only worry about teenager stuff, not about facing a final battle.’

‘Mom, I’m practically an adult.’ 

‘I don’t think so.’ Regina says while making a big hand gesture. They both start laughing.  
‘That’s the smile I love to see!’ 

‘Are we really all going to be ok mom?’ Henry asks, still a little bit concerned. 

‘Henry, let me tell you something about this battle. You have seen that there’s only one chapter left in the book, but there are many more new stories to tell. The final battle isn’t an ending, it’s closing a chapter of our lives and starting a new one. We will take the memories with us in our hearts and make new ones, together. I know you will be in my new story, and so is Emma. ‘ 

‘You almost sound like grandma, so.. hopeful.’ 

‘Hmm.. I’m beginning to talk like Snow? Maybe I shouldn’t take her with me in my new story then’, she grins.

‘You know what I hope mom? That you will get your happy ending in the next story. I wished you could still have it with Robin. You deserve happiness more than anyone.’

‘Henry, my happy ending isn’t a man, or a woman’ she winks. Henry smiles.  
‘Emma’, Regina smiles friendly when she sees her coming their way. The wink was meant for her.  
Emma gestures that she’ll be waiting for them and is giving them a moment to finish their conversation. Regina smiles and then continues to Henry:  
‘A happy ending isn’t something I should search for, it is a feeling I have in my heart every day. When I go to bed at night knowing I have a family that loves me, I have you and I know that no matter what happens, I am where I need to be. If life gets tough, I just have to take a deep breath. We will get through this, together. Love is not weakness, it’s strength.’

‘Thanks mom, I just… You know I.. Well you know.’

‘ I love you too Henry.’

‘I know.’

‘Let’s go to Emma she’s waiting, it’s time to go home.’ Regina says. They both stand up from their seats and walk to the path that leads to Emma’s car, side by side, a proud mom with a beautiful son. 

‘Hey, kid, how are you? Were you going on an adventure?’ Emma says to her son. 

‘Long story.’ Henry says while getting into her car. 

When Henry is seated Regina’s eye catches an object on the path that lead them to the car, laying next to one of the wheels. She quickly, but softly, grabs it and puts it in her pocket.  
‘I think I will just stay here a bit longer’ Regina says to Emma. 

‘Are you sure?’ Emma asks surprised.

‘Yes, I’ll just poof myself home with magic‘ she grins.

‘Be careful Regina.’ Emma says. Not in a stern way. She knows that Regina can take care of herself but she just wants to let her know she cares about her safety. 

‘I will be fine.’ Regina says when she waves them goodbye while walking back to the lake.  
Arriving at the same spot she left only minutes ago with Henry, she stands still. She watches the yellow bug drive away so she’s certain Henry and Emma are out of sight. Then she pulls her hand out of her pocket and slowly opens it. It’s the most gorgeous white feather she has ever laid eyes on. Regina closes her hand again and brings it to her chest, near her heart, holding the feather tight but with care as if it is as breakable as glass. She knows it was destined to be found by her. It must have landed behind her when she defeated the bear by telling her biggest fear. The fear of not being able to protect the ones she loves and the fear of losing them, like she lost Robin. He should not have sacrificed himself for her. She wished she was able to protect him, but she couldn’t safe him. For a moment she thought of her mother telling her ‘love is weakness’. In that moment, when she couldn’t protect Robin, she felt weak although she also felt more loved than ever. Her mother was wrong, love does not make you weak, it makes you stronger. So strong you’re willing to die for the one you love, and he did. Robin died out of love for Regina. When Henry said Regina could only defeat the bear by fear she knew what spell he used and the last ingredient it needed to be completed. The spell says that if you defeat your biggest fear you will be leaded, in this case, to a lost loved one. Thanks to Henry who added the feather of Robin’s arrow. Henry was confused when Regina defeated the bear and there was no sign of Robin. Regina found the feather, it was a sign, it will show her where Robin is. She’s only one tear of true love away from knowing what happened to him. Yes, that’s the last ingredient. Was Hades right? Is Robin’s soul obliterated, as if he never existed? More important, is Regina ready to face the truth? Is Robin’s soul in a good place? Regina takes a deep breath while looking at the stars that shine so bright. She’s letting herself get lost into memories of her and Robin. All the realms they met each other in, as if it was the first time. The moment she trusted him with her heart, when it was outside and when it was inside her body. The vault, well no explanation needed for that one. Their last moment. She never expected that to be the last time she would hold him. It happens, a tear slowly slides over her soft cheek. A tear, not only out of grieve, also of happiness about the time she had with him. She opens her hand and moves her fingers softly to the end of the feather, slowly bringing it into the direction of her face. She’s ready. She closes her eyes and gently wipes away the tear from her cheek. The feather absorbs it and starts to tremble. Regina lets it go. The feather starts to sparkle like a star, the brightest one you have ever seen. It’s going higher and higher, as an even brighter light opens up the sky. Regina can barely stand the light and holds her arm up, her hand in front of her face. Her fingers opening just far enough to look through them, still being able to follow the feather to its destination, into the light. The light that Regina recognizes from when she said goodbye to her mother and father in the underworld. You can only know how that light looks if you have seen it before.  
‘Goodbye Robin’ she whispers while a fresh tear rolls down her cheek.  
He might have lost life because of darkness but he found his way back into the light. He is safe, and he’ll always be in her heart. Regina has learned how to love, to receive love and now to let go. No matter how many pages the book has left, Regina is ready for a new story. She looks at the sky that is now dark again, in the stars she sees the big bear and the little bear. She smiles. She’s not fine, she’s happy, and she will not let her happiness end.


End file.
